“They’re bringing back the top people they thought were best rating grabbers,” Jeremy told XBiz, “with one major difference — there will be competitions and eliminations.”
Robin Leach of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” fame will host the new show, which also features Vanilla Ice, Emmanuel Lewis, Brigitte Nielsen, Chyna Doll, Sandra “Pepa” Denton, C.C. DeVille and Traci Bingham.
Jeremy told XBiz that production on the 10-episode show is scheduled to begin in March, with all eight cast mates sharing a house in Las Vegas for 12 days, after which cast members will be systematically eliminated in a series of competitions.
In all, the winner will spend one month working on the show and collect a $100,000 prize.
According to the network, competitions will include a fashion show, “Paparazzi Hide-and-Seek,” “Hotel Room Trash-a-thon” and “What`s Charo Saying?”
Jeremy said the format is similar to that of “The farm,” the British competition show he appeared on in 2005. On “The Farm,” however, the viewers chose the winner. Jeremy came in second place in the voting, beating out Flavor Flav and Charlene Tilton, among others, while losing to Orville the Duck, a popular children’s TV character.
“I lost to a talking duck,” Jeremy said. “But I have to admit, Orville is an adorable talking duck.”
Jeremy said he made $100,000 for working on “The Farm,” adding that he returned home with a heavy tax burden from the payday. Had he won, he would have tallied an additional $100,000.
According to Variety magazine, Jeremy’s season of the “Surreal Life,” which also featured his good friend Tammy Faye Messner, was the highest rated show ever in its time slot on the Warner Bothers network.
Jeremy said he keeps in touch with all of his former cast mates, but has a special fondness for Messner, calling her “a sweetie.”
“The Surreal Life: Fame Games” is just one of a handful of mainstream projects Jeremy has in the works. He also has roles in two movies being released on DVD this month, “The Aristocrats” and “Domino” and is writing a book titled “Ron Jeremy: The Hardest (Working) Man in Show Business,” scheduled for summer release on Harper Collins.
Still, Jeremy has no plans to go completely mainstream just yet. He said he is too happy with his deals in the adult industry, including his exclusive contracts with Metro and Pipedream Products as well as his deals with VS Media/Video Secrets, Leisure Time Entertainment and Steve Banan’s BarnacleBillTheSailor.com.